The relationship between exercise and, health has been known from time immemorial. Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.) is believed to have said “If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.” In modern times, with the advent of industrialized society, people's lives have become less physically active and demanding. In recent years, with the development of the information economy and the computer, we are becoming more and more sedentary. This, combined with the increased processing of foods, provides the average American or European with a lifestyle marked by poor nutrition and insufficient exercise. As a consequence, obesity has become the number one cause of premature death of people both in the United States and also globally, with heart disease a close second.
When done properly, exercise can increase muscle and bone strength, endurance, aerobic capacity, cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary health, metabolic health, the ratio of fat to muscle (body composition), and body flexibility. These benefits result in higher quality of life, reduced probability of injury, enhanced mental function, improved mood, and increased longevity. Various general modes of exercise are well known and widely practiced, including aerobics, resistance (weightlifting), and Range of Motion exercise (bending and stretching). Several variants involving one or the other of these general types have been developed, including interval exercising, circuit training, isometric exercises etc.
A number of patent disclosures describe exercise routines. Some representative examples are as follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,800 describes an exercise method that can be modified by a clinician. A processor with a protocol-generating algorithm is used in communication with an exercise device. Data is entered into the processor, such as age, height, weight and sex, and the processor generates an exercise protocol according to a protocol-generating algorithm and the user data. A supervisor is then capable of reviewing and modifying the exercise protocol. This protocol is then transferred to an exercise device having sensors that monitor the performance of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,185 describes an exercise method which provides increased heart rates and respiration while introducing variable resistance to the exercise through a combination of muscular resistance aided by mechanical force transference. The invention uses a force transfer device to transfer the force resulting from the extension or flexion of one muscle to a force resisting the extension or flexion of another muscle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,789 describes a method of exercise that enables the user to exercise both the arms and the legs simultaneously.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,656,096 describes a method for strengthening coordination between a person's hand muscles and muscles of the lower part of a person's body.